The Nation - News from July 6, 1989

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the illegitimate daughter of country music legend Hank Williams Sr. is entitled to part of his estate. In a 5-2 opinion, the court overturned parts of Montgomery Circuit Court rulings in 1967, 1968 and 1987 that Catherine Yvonne Stone had no right to the multimillion-dollar estate. Justice Hugh Maddox, writing for the majority, said Stone “is entitled to receive her proportional share of any proceeds in the estate of her natural father, Hank Williams . . . but prospectively only, from the date that she gave notice of her claim, Aug. 5, 1985.”